VIEW & SUBMIT

January 16 South Burlington Wolves Weekly Recap

The weather has forced many postponements and cancellations, setting up what is likely to be a very busy month of February as teams race to play out the rest of their schedules. Even though the weather has made it difficult for teams to compete, some of the South Burlington teams were in action last week.

Boys Basketball

The boys basketball team had a busy week of action with tough games against tough D1 match-ups. On Monday, January 8, visiting CVU snuck by South Burlington with a 58-54 win. Ethan Klesch (15 points), Ben Moran (10 points), Evan Parker (10 points), and Hakem Fuad (10 points) paced the Wolves’ offense but came up just short in their first loss of the year.

Three days later, South Burlington defeated Essex 62-61 after Evan Parker hit the game winning free throw with .4 seconds left. Fuad led in scoring with 20 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Brendan Bridge added 11 in the win.

The next day, the Wolves traveled down to Manchester and defeated Burr and Burton 72-67. Bridge’s hot second half (14 points) and 19 point performance, combined with an 11-0 run to start the second half propelled South Burlington to the victory. “I am incredibly proud of the toughness the team showed, playing its second road game in two nights due to the ensuing storm rolling in,” Coach Bayer-Pacht said, “and on a court that was unplayable [later that night the girls game was suspended due to the court’s slippery conditions] the Wolves stuck together and were able to put away an extremely tough and resilient BBA team. I have a lot of respect for the way Burr and Burton plays, they’re relentless and their standout guard Jake Nicholson is the real deal. The 4th quarter of the game was one of the highest level quarters you’ll ever see in Vermont high school boys basketball, with 26 and 25 points scored by the Bulldogs and Wolves respectively. We were glad to be able to hang on and put BBA away down the stretch, despite them making play after play to stay in it,” he added. Next up is a January 18 contest versus Rutland.

Girls Basketball

On Tuesday, January 9, Emma MacDonough’s 31 points (five three pointers) pushed the Wolves to a 54-48 over visiting Essex. Grace Hoehl added nine in the win, and South Burlington was about to fend off a comeback effort by the Hornets in the fourth quarter.

Three days later, an overtime effort was needed to defeat visiting BFA-St. Albans 45-41. MacDonough’s 17 points, and eight points from Abby Collins led the Wolves to their seventh win of the season. “Wow, what a week we had,” Coach Sawyer said. “Two big wins versus two really tough Metro Division teams. We were down 12 in the third quarter and then turned it on - We refocused on defense, got better quality possessions on offense and came back to tie it in the forth and took over in overtime. I am really proud of these young women and the team we are becoming. We are starting to show how tough we are while we are creating some special moments,” he added. The team hosts Rice on January 20.

Girls Hockey

On January 3, South Burlington’s girls hockey team was unstoppable as it defeated Hartford 11-0. Kate Hall led the way with four goals, while Lilly Truchon added two. Kayleigh Douglas (first high school goal), Ella Troville and Claire Wright each added one goal. Elise Norotsky, Wright, Truchon, Hall, Douglas, and Myah Dougherty added assists in the big win. Junior Goalie Hanako Memnon was able to get into her first game. Missisquoi travels to take on the Wolves at home on January 20.

Alpine

The SB Alpine team has had a good start to the season. They competed at the CVU GS @ Sugarbush on Monday, January 8. The girls took 6th as Emily Shaftritz finished in 23rd. The boys took fourth as Cam Chiari finished fifth. The team is beginning a rebuilding season with new coaches, Andy Weis and Cristin O’Neil at the helm. “We have a talented and exciting group of underclassmen that will surprise some people,” Coach Weis said. “Looking forward to fast skiing at Smuggler’s Notch for our next GS race,” she added.